There’s no way anyone hates the Pokémon franchise; how could you? Most people grew up watching the animated series or even playing the games. Its success has been nonstop for generations with almost everyone being able to recognize the iconic Poké Ball or Pikachu. Even if you weren’t super into as a kid, or even an adult, you should know at least a little of what we’re talking about. The world was filled with amazing creatures that you could catch and battle against. Both the shows and games had tales of heroism and friendship both amongst the humans and Pokémon. Even villains like Team Rocket became iconic and beloved.
While the world of Pokémon has always been a pleasure for gamers and cartoon lovers everywhere, there’s always been a few questions on everyone’s mind. Between strange reasonings for Pokémon lore and ten-year-old children running out into the world with just a backpack on their back, we’ve all been concerned at one point or another. As a kid, this may have seemed like a dream come true to go out and train adorable monsters all day, but as an adult, you may have wondered why certain things were the way they were.
No matter how much of a fan you are of the franchise, you can’t deny that there are some strange problems that happen both in the game and anime series. So, we’ve taken the liberty to give you 25 things that just don’t make sense about Pokémon! How many of these have you noticed before?
25 Pokédex Entries Don't Make Sense
Have you ever looked at a Pokédex entry and wondered why there was so little information? While it’s true that the entries change from game to game, the details it gives you never really come in handy for actually training your Pokémon, with the exception of maybe their type.
Oftentimes, the show’s own Pokémon didn’t even seem to care much about the actual entries. You may be able to learn new information game to game, but it always seems really pointless regardless of whether you’re playing or watching the show.
24 The Circle Of Life
Yes, you read that right; you can, in fact, eat Pokémon. In the Generation II games, you can actually have valuable items like Slowpoke tails, which are considered a delicious delicacy.
Do Pokémon at least taste good?
If you look up anything about them, they’re not even a kind of candy or meal named after Slowpokes but indeed a real severed Slowpoke tail. After all, if you eat animals why not eat the Pokémon around you? It may seem odd to us, but it should be perfectly normal in their world!
23 There Are Regular Animals
While you’d never see one in any of the games, the anime series has mentioned real animals from our world a number of times. Take the categories that Pokémon are placed in, for example.
In the series, Pikachu would be classified as a “Mouse Pokémon,” often referred to as an “electric mouse.” Logically, there would need to be mice in order to have a category named after it right? In fact, the Generation I Pokédex would even mention real-world animals in its entries, although rarely is seen in later generations.
22 Art Style Changes In Sun & Moon
We’ve seen Ash’s style change since the first anime series aired in 1997; in later years, we would see the art style improve to allow more detail. We’ve seen things like Pikachu going from a more rounded character to a slightly pudgy bunny look, but we would have never really guessed what the Sun & Moon series would have planned for us.
Seriously, the older art styles looked just fine...
The art style has changed drastically and, if we’re being honest, it certainly isn’t Ash’s best look. It seems to be taking after the actual game’s look, but translated to animation, it just looks off.
21 Type Match Ups Don't Apply In Anime
We know that Ash’s favorite companion will always be Pikachu, but that doesn’t mean he can neglect simple type matchups in battle; which he frequently does. We’ve seen Pikachu take on all types of Pokémon that he logically shouldn’t have been.
From Ground type Pokémon to even other Electric like Raichu, Pikachu has always been at the forefront of battle. Whether or not he’ll win isn’t the point so much as he shouldn’t have been up against those Pokémon in the first place.
20 Type Match Ups Don't Make Sense In The Game
Fighting types can be a great way to help win a battle. Need to defeat a water type? Consider an electric! After all, it makes sense that you would be able to electrocute water seeing how it works here in the real world.
Some of these match ups shouldn't be a thing.
The same way that the same water type could easily get rid of a fire type. While most of these make sense, not all of them do. Fighting is good against steel, but have you ever punched metal before? Not all of the match ups are winners.
19 Pikachu Is Always Weak At The Beginning Of A New Series
Despite beating countless Pokémon in the official series, non-canon movies not included, Pikachu always ends up weak in the beginning of a new series. Ash has been working this little Pokémon to the bone and yet every time we get to a new region, it’s almost like he hasn’t been training at all.
It wouldn’t make sense that each new region is stronger than the last because we know, through the gameplay and the people who live there, that it’s just like any other region in terms of strength.
18 Ash Never Ages
Ash is still ten. We repeat, Ash is still a ten-year-old boy. While we know that this is a kid’s show that is aiming for the age group that Ash is certainly a part of, it seems a little strange that after all this time he hasn't really changed.
How has he not aged at all?
Not one birthday episode or even acknowledging that there’s no way all of this happened in less than a year. Usually, when series like Pokémon want to continue, a new character takes over the show while the other one grows up to move on with life. Instead, he’ll forever be ten.
17 Why The Age Of Ten?
Speaking of being ten forever, why are children allowed to choose their first Pokémon and leave home at the age of ten in the first place? We’ve seen just how dangerous Pokémon can be, let alone wild Pokémon who have no interest in being captured, so why would we leave this to ten-year-old children?
Why are parents not even the least bit concerned that their child is literally traveling on foot all over the world by themselves? It just seems strange, especially considering we know there are older Pokémon trainers.
16 Why Are Gyms In Order Of Strength?
Gyms are perhaps on of the most confusing parts about Pokémon. In the game, it’s normal that the gyms would have to go in order of strength so that, as the player progresses and levels, they’ll be able to play against more challenging opponents and gain more experience.
We guess if you live by a tough gym, you're just going to have to train harder!
However, the anime seems to have this same set up. What happens if you live in a town where the gym is incredibly strong? Do you have to travel around to a weaker one only to come back home?
15 Why Is No One Doing Anything About The Villain Teams?
We love villain teams like Team Rocket; how can you not adore their antics or interesting motives? With each new game, there’s always a new antagonist with a new goal that we, as the players, must fight against.
It gives a sense of pride to the game, sure, but have you ever wondered why there wasn’t any kind of law enforcement helping out with such a serious issue? Even in the series, it seems like Officer Jenny has her hands full and yet the ten-year-old band of friends can defeat them before she even can.
14 Why Do We Never Hear About Old Companions?
Misty and Brock have just made a comeback in the most recent animated series, but that doesn’t mean we’ve really seen them before this. After each new region, Ash sets off on a new journey with new friends.
We haven't heard from them in years and now they're back?
The only issue is, we never seem to hear from those old friends again. And considering that Ash never really ages, we have to wonder if their lives have even changed since their journeys ended. It’s a little concerning and certainly odd after all they’ve been through together.
13 The Lore Backtracks Often
With each new game also comes new lore to make the background of the new region seem interesting and fresh. These stories are almost always great, but they also make it hard to believe in the grand scheme of things.
It seems odd that none of the other regions would have never mentioned these places or types of Pokémon in the first place, so logically why would we only be hearing about it now? Especially with additions like Arceus, who is literally a god. Wasn't Mew the first one though? Whether you’re looking at it from a game or series perspective, it always just seems odd.
12 You Can Catch A God?
In the game, your character should still be ten years old. This means that everything you do in the game is done by the capability of a ten-year-old. That may or may not include capturing a literal Pokémon god.
If Arceus is so powerful, how can a mere Poké Ball catch it?
Arceus is said to be the creator of all Pokémon and it’s considerably rare to ever see it in the wild, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. If you’re lucky enough to see one in game, you can most certainly catch it with the right equipment.
11 What's Inside A Poké Ball?
This has been the age-old question amongst Pokémon fans for generations, literally. We know that you can store tons of Pokemon inside of Poké Balls, but we have no idea what it looks like on the inside.
Most people believe that it’s just a comfortable environment for Pokémon to relax in before battle, but what about larger Pokémon like Onyx? Not to mention, you can store your Pokémon in a digital drive, so now we have to wonder what Pokémon even are in the first place.
10 What Do The Professors Actually Do?
We’re still wondering why saving the day and exploring the world are left up to ten-year-old kids, but why are the professors encouraging the kids to collect data for them? It seems strange that the professors for all of the regions wouldn’t be working together in order to find out about all of the Pokémon in the world.
Oak, what do you even do with this research?
Not to mention, the Pokédex they created seems to already know a lot about the Pokémon without need for input. So what exactly is the purpose of their research and what are they doing with their day?
9 Small Bird Pokémon Can Carry You
Everyone is usually upset when a Pokémon with wings can’t seem to learn the move Fly; like Charizard, who’s clearly a dragon. This is frustrating for obvious reasons, but it’s definitely not the worst in logic. No one even talks about how a small bird like Pidgey could carry you to another town, no matter the distance.
And Pidgey is a fairly small bird according to the size charts; which, does the series ever actually follow those either? Regardless, a bird the size of a pigeon shouldn’t be able to carry a small human all over the region.
8 How Do Different Pokémon Understand Each Other?
We know that animals always have a relative understanding of each other; like feeling threatened or being hunted for example. There’s a certain level of mutual understanding, but that doesn’t mean that they can really communicate with each other by each specie.
Do Pokémon have a universal language or is it just guessing?
The same should go for Pokémon, and yet regardless of type or category, the anime has always made it seems as though they can talk to each other much like humans can. We also have Pokémon like Meowth who can actually talk, which was never explained either.
7 What Is The Reason For Pikachu Talking Suddenly?
Pokémon talking to each other is one thing, but talking to humans is a whole other ball game. We know that Meowth can use human language, but we’ve never seen other Pokémon like him. That is, until, Pikachu decided to speak up.
In the most recent movie, Pikachu is gravely injured and when Ash asks why he won’t go into his Poké Ball, he answers, “It’s because… It’s because I always want to be with you.” A little strange and we’re not sure how it happened, but at this point, nothing really makes sense in the Pokémon universe.
6 You Need Special Shoes To Run In Some Games
In the original Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, we were introduced to the Devon Corporation’s Running Shoes; an item which allowed the players to run fast. Ever since their introduction, these shoes have been a staple in the game and are usually required so that you can run around wherever you’d like.
You should wear certain shoes to go jogging, but at least you can still physically run without them, right?
It makes sense that we wouldn’t be running everywhere in real life, but that also doesn’t mean we’re incapable of doing it. It seems strange that you couldn’t run at all because of your original shoes, which really just looked like regular sneakers in the first place.